Demo '97: Proving Ahs Works

This article is adapted from information provided by the
National Automated Highway System Consortium.

Highways of the future may feature relaxed drivers talking on the phone,
faxing documents, or reading a novel while an automated highway
system controls the vehicle's steering, braking, and throttling and
allows for "hands-off, feet-off" driving. Beginning in August 1997,
the National Automated Highway System Consortium (NAHSC) will
illustrate that the vision of an automated highway system (AHS)
that improves traffic safety and highway efficiency can be made a
reality.

As required in 1997 by the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), NAHSC will conduct a
proof-of-technical-feasibility demonstration project north of San
Diego to show that AHS is a viable and practical option for meeting
travel demands and enhancing mobility without building new
highways. The demonstration on August 7 through 10, 1997, will be a
full-scale, live, multivehicle demonstration of AHS technologies
that will provide stakeholders, elected officials, the media, and
the general public with a glimpse of the potential safety,
environmental, and efficiency benefits in a real-world, real-time
setting. The demonstration also will show that the technologies
needed to create an automated highway already exist or can be
developed shortly.

An operational AHS will reduce congestion by using existing
highways more effectively. A specially equipped AHS lane can double
or triple the flow rate (in vehicles per hour) of a manual lane,
even in adverse weather conditions. The increased flow rate is
possible because AHS promises to: provide uniform driving
performance by eliminating the accordion effect of acceleration,
deceleration, and weaving typical on today's highways; eliminate
traffic flow variances caused by human distractions; safely
increase traffic density in the lane because of the tighter
operating tolerances possible with fully automated control; and
manage entries and exits so that AHS lanes maintain optimum speed
and spacing in heavy traffic.

Buick's XP2000 concept car includes a conceptual
guidance system that would allow the car to travel at high speed
locked on sensors buried in the road.

A 12-kilometer, high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) segment of
Interstate 15 located 16 kilometers north of downtown San Diego
will be the site of the demonstration. This is a real highway - not
a test track - and the demonstration "runs," using contemporary
cars, buses, and light trucks, will take place between the morning
and afternoon rush hours. Each day, continuous demonstrations will
run for about five hours in various sequences to test the AHS
system in seven areas ranging from cruise control to obstacle
detection. Members of Congress, congressional staff, state and
local transportation decision-makers, and private-sector executives
will be invited to experience the automation technology by riding
in the demonstration vehicles. Viewing stands at strategic
locations will accommodate 200 spectators.

Demonstration systems will control spacing between vehicles and
keep the vehicles within the lane boundaries. Almost 93,000
guidance magnets have been installed on I-15 for the demonstration.
The vehicles will be equipped with sensors, computers, and
communications devices to able to sense and maneuver around
obstacles in time to avoid them and to communicate and exchange
information with other intelligent transportation services.

Why is an automated
highway system needed?

With almost 6.5 million kilometers of streets, roads, and
highways and with 190 million vehicles, the United States enjoys
one of the finest transportation systems in the world. However, our
unparalleled mobility is threatened by rapidly increasing
congestion. Concurrently, building addition infrastructure is
becoming a less viable solution, due largely to environmental,
community, and cost-related concerns.

Still more worrisome is the fact that our long-term trend of
reducing highway fatalities has apparently ended and is now going
in the wrong direction. More than 40,000 lives are lost each year
on our nation's highways. The annual cost to the nation is
estimated at more than $137 billion. Human error is a leading
factor in 90 percent of crashes. AHS promises to boost safety by
reducing and/or eliminating the element of driver error. Realizing
the capacity of AHS to enhance safety can go far in saving lives,
eliminating injuries, and reducing attendant human suffering and
cost. This is particularly important as the related concerns of
safety and congestion are expected to be exacerbated in the coming
years because the total vehicle-miles traveled will nearly double
by the year 2020 and our population will increase by 50 percent by
the middle of the 21st century.

Information technology - "smart" highways and vehicles - offers
the best solution. Automated highways will increase the safety,
convenience, and overall quality of travel on U.S. highways.
Anticipated results of automated highways include: significant
reduction of traffic accidents, reduced traffic congestion, more
predicable travel times for individuals and for the delivery of
goods, better use of existing roadways, conservation of energy
resources, and reduced emissions.

Although the demonstration may not directly represent the final
automated highway system prototype to be completed in 2002, it will
contain applications of technologies, systems, and subsystems that
will be building blocks leading to a full AHS prototype. The
demonstration will focus on existing technologies that can be
integrated quickly to provide a solid proof of technical
feasibility. Nearer term partial automation capabilities, which
would facilitate a gradual implementation approach, will be a key
component of the demonstration.

"Demo '97 provides a unique opportunity to witness the great
variety of cutting edge technologies that are being brought to bear
on the feasibility aspect of AHS. Automated lane keeping, for
example, will be demonstrated in a variety of ways: one scenario
follows magnets imbedded in the roadway, another tracks a radar
reflective stripe, several others use a variety of vision-based
systems. And the list goes on and on: laser-based systems, radar
applications in obstacle detection and lateral control, advanced
communications concepts, new technology advancements in
infrastructure maintenance, and so forth. Our challenge is to
combine all of these related efforts into a cohesive presentation
for Demo '97," says Pat McKenzie of Lockheed Martin Corporation,
who leads the Demonstration Systems Integration Team.

What can AHS offer in
the near term?

While fully automated highway systems may be several years away,
many applications are already road-ready or near ready. These
include:

Obstacle/Collision Avoidance that detects
obstacles/other vehicles in the road and safely adjusts
course.

Lane Keeping with sensors that track markers
in/on the highway, ensuring that the lanes are followed
precisely.

These technologies are already proven in concept and will be on
display at Demo '97, proving their near-term utility. What's more,
Demo '97 will show that these advances are adaptable to the unique
transportation needs of virtually every region and community.

"Of course, the technical content has to be there, but educating
our stakeholders is also a big part of the success of the demo,"
says Terry Quinlan, NAHSC test and demonstration manager. "Once
highway users understand the true benefits of AHS, they're likely
to become excited about its potential and look forward to
deployment of near-term AHS technologies such as intelligent cruse
control, collision warning systems, and lane departure
detection."

Therefore, supporting Demo '97's exciting array of activities is
a broad-based, public education program designed to activate AHS
stakeholders in this effort, maximize demonstration attendance,
build support for continuing the AHS Program, and promote the
vision and potential benefits of AHS deployment to likely system
users' operators and implementers.

Demonstration
Scenarios

The NAHSC participants are working together to show the world
what the future of highway travel might be. These scenarios are not
a prototype for a final AHS, but they are a look at the
capabilities and potential benefits of AHS to solve mounting
traffic problems, such as decreasing safety and rapidly increasing
congestion.

Free-Agent, Multiplatform Scenario
Carnegie-Mellon University has teamed up with the Metropolitan
Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, (Houston Metro) to show
vehicle-based AHS technologies used across different vehicle
platforms and to demonstrate the potential of automated vehicles
operating in non-automated traffic. Using two buses, one Oldsmobile
Silhouette minivan, and one Pontiac Bonneville, the scenario will
showcase full automation, obstacle avoidance, and collision warning
and will demonstrate an automated lane change and an
operator/driver interface.

Platooning Scenario
The University of California PATH Program will present this
scenario using eight specially equipped 1997 Buick LeSabres to
prove the feasibility of a transportation system designed to
significantly improve the throughput on U.S. highways. The vehicles
were extensively modified by Delco Electronics, General Motors,
Hughes, and the University of California PATH. The cars will travel
in a single-file formation guided by magnets embedded in the
roadway. As a group, they will accelerate, decelerate, and perform
a coordinated stop (to avoid an obstacle). The platoon will split
to allow other vehicles to enter and then rejoin as one platoon.
Drivers will receive vital information such as vehicle speed,
current maneuver, and distance to destination via a head-up display
designed by Delco Electronics.

Maintenance Scenario
Caltrans will demonstrate AHS maintenance operations using the
Infrastructure Diagnostic Vehicle (IDV) and the Debris Removal
Vehicle (DRV). IDV, developed by Caltrans, Lockheed Martin, and the
University of California at Davis, will be equipped with autonomous
lateral control equipment and conventional cruise control for
automated driving. IDV will also be equipped with diagnostic
equipment to conduct monitoring, physical inspection, and
preventative care to preserve the integrity of the AHS
infrastructure. These maintenance operations will be performed
while traveling under automated control at highway speeds. The DRV,
developed by Pick-AII Inc., will demonstrate the automatic removal
of debris from the AHS lanes.

Control Transition Scenario
In this scenario, Honda R&D will showcase two approaches to
automated highway systems - an infrastructure-supported approach
and an independent vehicle approach. Honda's two prototype "AHS
Accords" will transition between these two approaches
(infrastructure-to-vehicle communications and vehicle-to-vehicle
communications) as they demonstrate platooning, automated lane
changes, automated start and stop, and obstacle detection and
avoidance. The use of multiple sensor systems will demonstrate the
concept of back-up technology for better performance and
reliability.

Alternative Technology Scenario The Ohio State
University will use one manually driven car and two automated cars
to show an automated vehicle pass a manually driven car in this
scenario, which highlights an additional technology for lateral
control. About 6.5 kilometers of the HOV lanes are equipped with
radar-reflective tape produced by 3M. This tape (versus the magnets
used in other scenarios) and a single camera-based vision system
will be used for lateral control. An Eaton Vorad low-powered radar
will be used for side vehicle detection and a laser system will be
used for longitudinal control.

Evolutionary Scenario
This scenario will showcase the evolution of vehicle automation.
Toyota, in conjunction with the Toyota Technical Center, IMRA, and
AISIN, will use existing highway infrastructure, two concept
automated vehicles - based on the Toyota Avalon - and two
non-automated Toyota Camrys to consecutively demonstrate
lane-departure warning, obstacle-detection warning, blind spot
warning, longitudinal control using Intelligent Cruise Control,
automated lateral control using vision system, obstacle avoidance
using laser detection, and automated lane-change maneuvers.

ln the adjacent AHS Exposition Center at Miramar College,
attendees will learn more about AHS, the consortium's work, and
associated stakeholder industries and organizations through a
series of exhibits, presentations, stand-alone demonstrations,
component displays, and simulations designed to enlighten and
entertain.

The demonstration results will help the intelligent
transportation community select the most promising AHS technologies
and conceptual approach, which ultimately will lead to an AHS
operational test with public participation. With the summer
demonstration, the NAHSC program plan will have achieved its the
first major milestone and will have set the stage for an AHS
prototype.

Houston Metro Seeks to
Lead the Way

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas,
(Houston Metro) is the only transit authority participating in Demo
'97. Houston Metro is providing two New Flyer, 12.2-meter (40-foot)
low-floor buses to participate in the demonstration runs. The buses
will be outfitted at Carnegie-Mellon University with the hardware
and software necessary to be full automated.

Houston Metro has identified automated highway technology as
having potential for future application to the Houston HOV lane
network as a cost-effective means of increasing vehicle throughput,
and AHS will specifically be considered in Metro's long-range
transportation plan. Houston Metro is seeking to be among the
international leaders in the use of advanced technology to improve
transportation.

"We're set to show how transit operations can be improved
through AHS. It's the first major step toward adopting these new
AHS technologies to help [Metro] continue to improve mobility in
the Houston area, and it holds the promise to do the same for
transit operations throughout the United States," said Robert
MacLennan, general manager of Houston Metro.